David, a federal law enforcement special agent and United States Marine Corps veteran from Pennsylvania, and Ebony, a DC public school teacher from Maryland, met through Ebony’s best friend of 32 years.
“She and I were enjoying a Saturday afternoon retail therapy session—I had lost my mom six months prior and hadn’t been shopping in Annapolis in months, when she suggested that we go to dinner and hang out with some friends,” recalls Ebony. “To my surprise we arrived at the restaurant for me to meet a gentle, kind and fascinating man.” Coincidentally, the pair had followed close paths through life, having attended the same high school and neighboring colleges.
On their first date, the two played pool and talked about everything from education politics and social change to the birth of hip hop. “We both had such a desire to serve and protect and promote empowerment through education,” Ebony says. Also, David recited the lyrics from Method Man’s “You’re All That I Need.” Needless to say, it was a memorable evening. Cut to a little while later, when David swooped in to help Ebony’s son get safely to his destination in the middle of a snowstorm, and Ebony knew she’d found someone special. “David demonstrated a sincere act of kindness that was only the beginning of his demonstration of God’s love for me,” she says.
The pair continued to connect over time spent together at the Kennedy Center, out and about in Georgetown, and enjoying picnics at Wolf Trap. In February of this year, the two got engaged with a proposal Ebony says was similar to that of Carrie and Big in her favorite movie, Sex and the City—but on a smaller scale. “I received a closet!”
While they’ve decided to postpone their wedding until September 2021, they took their engagement portraits around the city this summer. They chose the monuments as a background, explaining that it reflected their love for Ebony’s “beautiful hometown, as a sixth generation Washingtonian,” the couple’s passion for education and politics, as well as the spirit of Ebony’s grandmother and great grandmother, who had nostalgic pictures from the city as early as the 30s and 40s. “It’s the backdrop of our lives, where we work and play. It’s such a beautiful and prestigious city.”
See more from their DC engagement session, which features three distinct wardrobe changes, below.
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The Details
Photography: Iris Mannings | Wedding Planning & Design: Favored by Yodit Events & Design | Makeup Artist: Jeff Enriquez | Hairstyling: Serena Hampton
Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.
